


The Space Between Us

by awildneko



Category: Oh My Girl (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 15:31:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17046221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awildneko/pseuds/awildneko
Summary: Seunghee is an aspiring space pilot.





	The Space Between Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tide_ms](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tide_ms/gifts).



As soon as the entrance exam had started, Seunghee furiously began scribbling. The space program entrance exams were known for having a 10% pass rate, and she was determined to be within that 10%. 

She just needed to stay focused and calm and remember what she had studied during her months of preparation. She could do it!

She was about halfway through the power at the middle point of the exam, which meant good progress on her part. If she could finish the exam, then she had a much greater chance of answering enough questions correctly. 

There was a slight commotion at the front. Seunghee raised her head in annoyance, there was a girl with long hair speaking to the exam invigilator quietly - Seunghee could just about hear what they were saying.

“Excuse me, may I hand in my exam now, I have completed it?”

An astonished look from the indicator before they recovered. “Are you sure dear? You can't come back once you leave the room.”

“I'm sure.”

“Then what is your name dear?”

“Kim Jiho.”

…..

"Seunghee, aren't you going to join us to see the ‘A’ team return from their mission? I heard that there will be a party to welcome back Mimi, Hyojung and Jiho" Yooa asked on her way out, peering back over her shoulder, although she didn't actually pause in her steps. The answer was always the same, and this was just a habit Yooa couldn't give up in the hopes that she would get a different response at least one time.

"No, it's okay, I've got some training to do. I'll see you later" It wasn't entirely a lie. The fact that she didn't want to see the ‘A’ team was only one reason, but it was a strong one. It was always frustrating to see their academy's prodigies doing what she so wanted to do.

She did intend to do some training, but the type she had in mind was not the homework they were tasked with doing in their classes at the academy, as the others might expect. If she she stuck to what was required, she would be just fine. Seunghee didn't want to be 'just fine'. There'd been that moment, early on, where she had caught a glimpse of something more, and now she wanted to grab it by both hands and get there herself. In doing this she set herself extra practice, to aim higher, for that shining light she considered both as her goal and as something she could one day supersede. Everyday, without missing an opportunity, she'd set out to complete the tasks that she'd written on her handmade training plan that she carried everywhere, and which was complete with colourful doodles to cheer herself on.

It was just a shame that her extra work took such a toll on most of the friendships she'd made, even with Yooa who she knew before enrolling in the academy. She tried to ignore the pang in her heart at the repeated disappointed and saddened looks Yooa gave her each time she turned down a chance to hang out, such as now. Seunghee shook her head vigorously, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind with dreams of all that she wanted to achieve and setting her jaw into a determined stance.

A glance over her training plan showed that today she was meant to be testing her knowledge in the mock 'cockpit' set up for classes. Theoretically she wasn't actually allowed in that part of campus without supervision, since although it wasn't a real spacecraft, apparently the setup was still very technical and could go cause problems if it were used incorrectly. It had been easy for Seunghee to bribe the attendant with homemade cookies, and now she could go and use the facility whenever she needed.

The attendant wasn't at the desk when she arrived, which wasn't unusual since they often gave into their food cravings during a shift. Seunghee shrugged and headed inside.

 

When she did head inside, she paused halfway towards the control room. It was as if there was someone else in the room with her. That was impossible, she told herself, for she was the only one who came here out of teaching hours.

Slowly she inched her feet across the room with as quiet steps as she could manage, on the way grabbing the first thing in her bag she could possibly use in self defence; her study plan. She braced it in front of her and strained her eyes to see who was there, ready to slam the thick notebook down if she needed to.

Someone was sleeping inside the control room

....

"What the heck?!" Seunghee clamped her hand round her mouth to stop any further outbursts. The sleeping person shifted in their dreams but did not wake.

After a few moments the bewilderment faded and was replaced with irritation. Not only did someone dare to sleep in the control room where she intended to practice - she also knew exactly who they were.

"I'd recognise that ridiculously long hair anywhere" she muttered under her breath.

It was that Jiho. From the A-team. From the entrance exam.

With the increasing irritation came a quickly reduced feeling of sympathy for the sleeping girl. Seunghee practically shoved the girl to wake her up, complimenting her efforts with clipped calls of "wake up stupid".

Jiho was elegant even when being roughly woken, Seunghee noted with annoyance, recalling the bedhead hair she saw in the mirror each morning.

The prodigy girl yawned cutely and stretched, her usually calm face only showing a hint of surprise at the situation.

"Oh it's you." she said softly in greeting, and Seunghee even thought she saw the traces of a smile on her mouth.

"I'm glad your not one of the fanclub members." she looked about warily.

Seunghee pretended to understand what on earth Jiho was talking about, just so she didn't have to talk to her any longer than necessary.

"Seunghee right?"

Seunghee reluctantly nodded as she sat down and began to set up, trying to make it clear that the conversation would go no further and that she really needed to get on.

"What are you doing Seunghee?"

Seunghee heaved a great sigh, and plastered an obviously fake smile on as she responded. "I came here to study, and you're kind of in my way. Please leave."

Jiho paused, but she back to her usual expressionless face, so Seunghee couldn't tell if she had gotten the message or not. She decided she didn't care and carried on. She heard footsteps heading away and guessed that the girl was finally leaving.

"Umm, Seunghee" her voice came from further away, near the far door "did you shut the door? I think it's locked.

Seunghee couldn't handle this. She stood up abruptly and charged towards the girl, determined to get this over with quickly still. She tried the door. No movement. She called out, no answer from the attendant - where were they? Shit.

She plastered the dumb fake grin on again. "Looks like you're right. Well I'm going to try and study until someone comes to let us out." she started to head back over to the controls.

"Can I help?"

Seunghee stopped. People didn't usually ask her that. Maybe she could actually get some use out of Jiho's prodigal brain.

"Tell me what I'm doing wrong with the setup."

Jiho followed quietly and sat behind her, watching her every move closely as she went through the 15 minute procedure she came to practice. Seunghee was conscious of her presence the whole time, so unused to having another person there, but she managed to stay mostly focused.

In reality, there wasn't anything particularly wrong with how she was setting things up compared to her instructions, but Seunghee felt there was something missing that her books and teachers weren't telling her about that made the simulator crash.

Only after she had finished did Jiho speak up. "It's a little tricky to explain, since actually it's a really small adjustment that you need to make in the power. Perhaps it would be easier to show you." They swapped positions, and Seunghee watched as Jiho activated the setup with a practised ease. She could easily see what Jiho was doing differently though.

"How do you know when to adjust the power like that though?"

"You just have to listen to the noises of all the engines, as if each are a different creature. It takes practice, but you can do it. Here, let's do it together."

They sat together, and Jiho took it upon herself to cover Seunghee's hands with her own to show exactly when to adjust the instruments.

Seunghee could see why Jiho was considered a prodigy.

There was only so much practice a person could do before they had to take a break. Help had yet to arrive and free them from the training room they were locked in, leaving plenty of time to kill. 

Seunghee decided she might as well cut the increasingly awkward silence. 

“What’s it like doing missions?” she asked quietly, keeping her eyes on her shoes. 

“It's definitely an amazing feeling.” Jiho replied, and Seunghee couldn't help but take a peek at her face out of the corner of her eye. There was pure joy in her eyes.

“But you know the ones I've been on so far are only practice missions right? The real thing comes next.” She was practically buzzing with excitement at the thought.

Seunghee felt the sickening feeling of envy start to rise in her again. She really wanted to go on a mission like Jiho one day soon. It was what she worked so hard for. She decided a change of subject was needed.

“I never asked you why you were here earlier...sleeping?”

Jiho gave a sheepish flash of her teeth, but quickly settled into herself again.

“Truthfully I come here to escape. Even in my dorm there are people - fans I guess - who won't let me be alone and with my own thoughts. It gets a bit too much, even though I appreciate their thoughts and good intentions.”

Seunghee threw her head back and laughed incredulously, she knew some of the bitterness she had felt could be heard in her laughter.

“What?”

“You have an amazing opportunity and all these fans yet want to desperately escape them, and I can't even manage to keep a single friend when I'm working so hard to be where you are. It just seems unfair.” She signed 

Jiho frowned at her. “You know, a fan isn't the same as a friend. I don't have any friends either, except maybe Mimi and Hyojung, but I already spend too much time with them.”

A few minutes of silence passed while they both self reflected.

“Seunghee, why don't we be friends?” Jiho said all of a sudden. She had a serious look in her eyes, so Seunghee listened carefully.

“I could help you with your studies here, and maybe I can bounce some of my uncertainties onto you.” Jiho continued as she produced the study plan Seunghee had made from beside her. “I know you'll make a great pilot someday so we would go together well.”

Seunghee's cheeks were red with embarrassment now that she knew the other girl had read the details in her study plan. No one else had done so before, so the content had begun to feel private. Once she'd relaxed a little however, she couldn't deny that Jiho's sincere words were winning her over.

“Okay, let's be friends.”

A few minutes later the attendant arrived to finally free them.

 

……..

The air of excitement was unmistakable.

The crowd gathered, even larger than usual. This time, however, the atmosphere was different, and with added layers of complexity. Cheers of excitement echoed around for the team of three pilots off to set on their journey into space, yet there was also the added tension and nervousness of the possibility that they may not return from their mission.

As always, the easy grins given by Mimi and Hyojung helped to ease any tensions, and Jiho's stoic expression and solid stance did even more so. Her appearance gave no hint of nervousness and the crowd were reminded again why she was considered a sort of idol amongst them. 

It was only when the academy's headmaster rose to platform and cued for silence that the noise reduced to a hushed murmur. His eyes seemed teary as he wished the A team well. The three girls bowed to the crowd with those same, confident expressions, worn like a comfortable and well practised mask.

As the headmaster spoke, a small kerfuffle was taking place in the crowd. A girl with a messy fringe and a determined look in her eyes was trying to get closer to the front, others moving out of her way when they saw her. There reached a point where the crowd was too thick for her to move further, like a blockade, however she seemed to feel she was close enough, for that was when she opened her mouth.

"Yah, Jiho!" the voice cried, so loud in contrast to the hushed atmosphere that it could be heard loud and clear by all.

"You better go out there and do your best, and return back to us safe, or else you will never hear the end of it!"

Seunghee seemingly managed to finish saying her piece before Yooa finally caught up to her and silenced her with her hand.

The crowd seemed stunned, unsure of how to respond to such a strange outburst. The headmaster also, seemed to struggle to proceed.

"Ahem, anyhow, moving on....er we all wish you a safe trip on your mission."

It was actually Jiho, and her usually stoic expression, which shocked those in the crowd, particularly her avid fans. The edges of her lips seemed to curve upwards, displaying a rare smile that reached to her twinkling eyes. It would be a moment remembered and cherished by all, but particularly by Seunghee, who watched on as Yooa began to drag her back towards the dorms.


End file.
